Father and Sons
by ladymars
Summary: In the wake of Ed's disappearance, a multitude of chimeras have appeared leaving no area safe from their wrath. Alchemists inhabit every town to ensure their safety, but not even that is enough. Only one person holds the knowledge of the source of the wre


Father and Sons

Decomposition: Return

Lady Mars

Another fanfiction adventure.

This story is based off of the end of Fullmetal Alchemist, the anime, and does not take into account the occurrences of The Conqueror of Shambala. If you have seen it, disregard it. If you haven't, no big loss.

Fullmetal Alchemist is property of Hiromu Arakawa and Square Enix. I am simply using there characters for my own personal pleasures and are making no money off of this escapade.

Enjoy.

* * *

Winry rushed through the halls of the hospital, dodging the scant number of people who floated about the offensively bright area. The sterile building served as the end of the line; a horrific call, an uncomfortable train ride from Central, and a long run from the train station had dropped the blonde in a state of sheer panic. The odds normally favored the calm end of the spectrum when she journeyed to plead to the Fuhrer to station an alchemist in the small town or to search for the missing member of the family. After nine long years of searching for the petite Alchemist, the trails kept running dry. Mustang furiously denied knowing any information on Ed's whereabouts, but she knew that the Flame Alchemist hid something from her. Before the opportunity arose to drive the truth out of the Fuhrer, the call had come through. With little information about the attack, she returned to Rizenbul. 

The inhabitants of the small, mountainous town knew about the chimera attacks and the increase of frequency, but no one expected the wretched beasts to actually show up. The military officials promised safety over and over again. The council turned down the offer to have a State Alchemist stationed in the town and now that one was needed, the military had none to offer. Now the organization had no grounds to deny the people the protection that they so desired.

Rounding another corner, Winry almost plowed into a nurse. The other woman braced for the impact that never came: the blonde stopped short.

"I'm so sorry," Winry panted, trying to stabilize the erratic breathing caused by the lengthy run from the train station. The nurse smiled, nodding in acceptance of the apology.

"Is there something I can do for you dearie?" The nurse's chipper voice irritated her at the early hour.

"I need to know if there is anyone by the name of Elric here." The reply came back much less erratic; the brief reprise allowed her to catch her breath somewhat.

"Elric was it?" Winry nodded and the nurse began shuffling through the numerous folders. Deft fingers plucked three out of the stack and flipped them open one at a time. "There is an Alphonse upstairs in the intensive care unit…" Winry paled at the statement. "And there is a Trisha and an Alana on this floor." Tensions drained slightly upon the delivery of the latest news about the girls.

"Can I see them?" The nurse smiled gently.

"Alana is up in x-ray at the moment and the State Alchemist is in with Trisha."

"Alchemist…?" The word tumbled from Winry's mouth before she had the opportunity to stop it. The nurse nodded slowly.

"Darndest thing. I would have sworn that the military hadn't stationed one out here, but he showed up and killed those foul mutants before any more damage could be done. And now we can't pull him away from the little one no matter how hard we try…." The nurse sighed wistfully. "At least someone had enough sense to station a responsible one."

Winry's mind raced; the Fuhrer swore up and down, left and right that no alchemist had been stationed in the town and yet the townspeople claimed that not only had one arrived, but had also saved the three remaining members of her family from an almost certain death. Mustang wouldn't have listened to complaints if an alchemist had been stationed.

"Which room…?" The nurse replied with 412 before the question could be finished.

Walking away from the nurse's station, Winry wrung her hands. She knew nothing of any of her family's injuries, but that no longer seemed significant. An alchemist had finally arrived in Rizenbul and her worried mind couldn't help but wonder if this man, this person could protect their small town from the larger threats the world presented.

Winry paused at the door, not ready to face the new alchemist yet. This person stood between the townspeople and the chimeras that constantly threatened their way of life. This person became the first, last, and only defense. '_Is this someone that Al and I know? Is this someone that would pose an additional threat to the town?'_

Stepping through the threshold, Winry froze; the last scenario that drifted through her head had rapidly become reality.

The only light in the room wafted in from the hall, but there could be no mistaking the form perched by the bed.

The person held a minute stature – compared to the size of the bed – and sat with his chin cradled in a black clad left hand. A long, black cloak hung over the chair back, silver embroidery shining in the dim light though the many folds in the fabric, abandoned for no apparent reason. Long blonde hair snaked over the right shoulder and down between the shoulder blades and down the back in gentle waves, catching the light and reflecting it back brighter. The light too bounced back from the gunmetal grey plating of a man-made arm, the hand clutching the smaller one of the sleeping child. The man seemed at peace; a far cry from his demeanor as a youth.

"Ed?" The quiet, excited, shaky question floated though the air, causing the sitting man to tense. "Ed, is that really you?" Shifting in the chair and tossing the Auto-mail arm over the back, golden eyes glittered in the low light at their gazes connected revealing a mixture of fear and hope.

"Winry?"

* * *

Leaning against the wall, phone wedged between ear and an Auto-mail shoulder, Ed rapped metal fingers in a nonsensical rhythm on the desk, watching the minimal amounts of activity in the hall. After encouraging Winry to go upstairs and see Al – an action that he had been unable to do as of yet because of their youngest daughter's desire to keep 'her savior' near by – he took up the current perch to call Central. 

Spying the clock on the wall while the call connected, an idle mind wandered to the actions of the Central military office. Despite the ungodly hour that Rizenbul stood at, the Fuhrer's office had been up and running for some time.

"Come on." The phrase tore loose as a growl. As the moments ticked past, agitation swelled past normal limitations. When the line clicked and the chipper voice of the secretary chirped in the phone, he resisted the urge to growl at the woman. "The Fuhrer please." Ed almost said Mustang, but stopped before the word slipped out.

"Whom shall I say is calling?"

Tempted to reply with something rude, Ed bit his tongue and replied: the State Alchemist in Rizenbul. When the secretary clicked over to hold, Ed began imagining the Fuhrer's reaction. '_I can see Mustang now: "Alchemist in Rizenbul? I didn't station an alchemist in Rizenbul." Oh the surprise that is coming…'_

"Mustang." The Fuhrer's voice resonated in Ed's ear, triggering a deep breath before the blonde tore into the man.

"Would you care to explain to me how you can justify leaving a rumored attack area unguarded?" The line fell silent as Roy processed the speaker more than the question posed.

"Fullmetal?" The question returned with open, honest shock. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me you bastard Fuhrer!" The snappish reply bounced off the hospital walls. "Now answer my damn question!" A brief pause ensued as Roy reassembled his neutral tone.

"A request had been placed for an alchemist not…." The reply sounded well practiced. Many complaints had been lodged against the new system, but little could be done. With few available alchemists and fewer willing to hold posts, the military could only give carbon copy answers until everything ironed itself out.

"**LAST YEAR** MUSTANG!" Ed interjected before Roy's tirade started. "There hasn't been a trace of a bid since then. And, if I read right, which I like to think I did, they **should** get an offer every three months. And yet, there is not an alchemist here. What in the name of all things holy is wrong with you?" Roy's reply bounced back as a parroting of his previous statement. This action irritated Ed further. "When there is evidence that an attack was not evident Roy! You are so very lucky that I arrived when I did or I would be there, in your office, chewing your ass out face to face!"

"What do you expect me to do about it Fullmetal?" Roy roared back, control sliding away from him. "It is too late for me to do anything about it!"

"Assign one then you ass," Ed growled back. The little restraint that had surfaced before the call started melted away the longer Ed spoke to the Flame Alchemist. "I don't want this to happen again. Three innocent lives could have been lost due to your negligence!"

"Who Fullmetal? I have enough problems keeping the alchemists stationed in the big towns. A speck on the map? It will never happen." Ed sighed with exasperation, reining his anger in again.

"I'll do it. Station me." Roy snorted. He had grown accustomed to Ed's demands, but this one pressed his luck. No record of him being re-certified had floated into the Fuhrer's office. Snapping his fingers, Roy motioned for his secretary to go find Elric's file.

"You can't, you're not certified." The woman dropped Ed's thick file onto Roy's desk. The man nodded his thanks and returned his focus to Ed on the line.

"Like hell I'm not. I got my watch back in Southern." A brief pause ensued as Roy read over Ed's newly re-opened file. It showed that all of the paperwork had been completed to be reinstated as a State Alchemist.

"I can see that now, but you have to be a Colonel to hold that post." Roy had Ed here; it was impossible to get stationed to defend a town without rank. The rank that Ed currently did not hold.

"Promote me." Roy balked at the request. Out of any request that Ed made, this ranked amongst the most outrageous. No one made a demand like this and lived to tell about it. Unfortunately Roy could do nothing until the two could meet face to face.

"Promote you? On what grounds?" Ed waved a stack of papers that sat on the desk in front of the phone. The parchment held no real significance, but the goal was to get Roy to believe that they held importance.

"Hear that? That is the wad of paper that will lead you to the source of this mess." Silence reigned. Roy pondered the noise, trying to figure out what direction Ed is heading with the taunt.

"You know who is behind this?" Roy's curiosity had been piqued. The military scoured every source available trying to find the instigator, but came up short each and every time. Now Ed held everything they needed just out of his reach. Ed teased him with a reply of yes, still waving the random papers in the background. "Tell me." Ed outright laughed at the Fuhrer before telling him no; this secret came with a hefty price. "And why not?"

"Easy. I give my information to you, I gain nothing from the transaction. If you want it so bad, you bring your own ass down here with the proper promotion papers. Once I'm done getting my promotion and chewing you out for almost getting my brother and nieces killed, we'll talk about my information. You will get nothing for free from this dog, Roy." The phrase dripped with venom as it rolled of his tongue. "Have a good day Fuhrer." The phone crash landed in the cradle before Roy had the chance to retort.

Sighing and raking fingers through disheveled golden hair, Ed turned to the nurse sitting at the desk. The woman started at him, either scared of the man, offended, or something else that was unreadable. "What? Did I say something wrong?" The nurse blinked a stunned reply; Ed sighed and, shaking his head, walked away.

Dropping onto a bench at the other end of the hall, Ed finally took a moment to asses the situation. The day dragged on into the dawn, slowly turning one long day into two. Never had the young alchemist imagined the scene that sprawled out on the fields near the Rockbell's house would be the welcome that played out. The three chimeras circled the three members of the Elric family, threatening to kill all three. Al tried to ward them off, but the effort failed. They demon beasts closed in. Each one met a swift death under the blade of Ed's arm, the last one flooding him in blood as steel plowed into flesh to prevent Alana's death.

"Are you ok Ed?" Ed looked up, eyes softening at Winry who stood above him. She too looked tired, but not nearly as tired as he felt sitting there. The woman had made a similar long trip, but didn't have to fight three chimeras to the death at the end of it. It pained him to think about how betrayed Winry must feel; classified as missing – presumed dead - for years Ed dropped from the sky and back into her life during a family crisis. Any anger the woman held was well masked.

"I guess so." The answer came back soft and dodgy. Ed didn't want to face her wrath yet, not after chewing Roy out. Scooting over to allow her to sit, Ed continued. "How's Al?" Winry took the silent offer and plopped down next to Ed with a sigh.

"To be honest," the reply came back softly. "He looks like he got mauled by a chimera. The nurses say he's really lucky to still be alive… Ed…" A brief pause as Winry tried to get Ed to look at her. Ed kept a shaky gaze locked on the floor. "Ed?" Ed's gaze finally drifted up when a hand was placed on his good knee. "Where have you been all this time? I mean… There… There is no logical reason that we can come up with for you leaving and yet you did, without a trace or explanation…"

Ed sighed, putting all focus on his hands. The mechanics in Rush Valley did wonders on the Auto-mail, but still a new one would be needed. Ed only accepted Winry's work; only her work could hold up to the abuse that the petit man put it through. "Al was so broken up…"

"A mistake…" Ed started quietly. "The transmutation I used to get Al back sent me somewhere else. Somewhere that I could never hope to explain to you." A brief pause while Ed gathered his thoughts. "I spent two years getting myself back here and another four chasing my own shadow." Ed shifted back and stared at the ceiling. "It is bad enough that this mess is all my fault."

"All your fault?" Winry's voice echoed softly in the hall, encouraging Ed to carry on. The only response from the Alchemist came as a short nod. "How could any of this be your fault?" Ed's first reply came back softer than his original response, so soft that Winry couldn't hear him. The mechanic pressed him to speak louder.

"I let him get away," Ed growled in a low voice. "And by letting him get away, they got away too. But not this time. I know how he's doing it and I can stop him from carrying on this way…"

Winry stared at him; Ed had rattled off what seemed to be an on going internal battle. Before she could press the issue, a nurse approached.

"Mrs. Elric?" the woman asked sweetly. Winry looked up and smiled weakly. "We have some paperwork for you to go over." Winry sighed and rose slowly to her feet, glaring at Ed, challenging him to try and escape the explanation.

Ed watched her walk away, then sighed, setting his head back against the wall. '_This is going to be a long night…'

* * *

_

Roy shielded his eyes against the bright morning sun. The train ride turned out to be more arduous than expected, leaving the Fuhrer more than ready to be done with the ordeal. No regal welcome awaited the chief officer of the army, but no welcome could be expected in such a small town.

"Can I help you…?" Roy turned on his heel to face the nurse. The nurse, in turn, froze; never had the small town of Rizenbul seen the Fuhrer. The rumors stirred, but no one had actually seen him, ever. Immediately her demeanor changed to a more professional one. "Can I help you sir?"

"I'm looking for the Alchemist." Roy's answer came back stiff, short, and controlled. The nurse parroted his statement back to him in a question. Roy started in on an answer when another voice wafted from the other end of the hall.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally arrived." Roy turned on his heel to the source. At the other end of the hall stood Ed, Trisha resting on one hip. "Took you long enough. I call you _hours_ ago. What happened? Did you get lost?"

Roy growled lowly, staring down the petite alchemist. "It's good to see you too Fullmetal." Ed stared back for a moment.

"That it? No other insults? No other commentary?" Roy shook his head shortly. "No? And why not? No spine now?" The Fuhrer stared at him again.

"No, my dear Fullmetal. The things I want to tell you are inappropriate for _little ears._" Ed smiled and shifted the child slightly on his hip.

"Great thing kids are, aren't they Roy?" Roy stared at him for another long span of time. "Stop staring at me, we won't get anything accomplished this way. You have what I want?" Roy nodded and pulled a stack of papers out of his briefcase and set them down on the desk.

"You have what I want?" Tightening his grip on the child for a moment, Ed rifled through his coat and pulled out a stack of paper. "Can I have it?"

"Once I get my promotion." Roy stared at him again, then sighed. He mumbled fine and waved the shorter man over. Ed walked over to the desk and flipped through the papers. After a moment he stopped and looked at Roy. "And this assures I'll be stationed out here?" Roy nodded; Ed returned to the papers.

"I'll send you a team as soon as I can get one together." Ed looked up at him again.

"And that will take…?" Roy sighed; there was no way of giving the younger Alchemist a straight answer.

"I can't say. We're having problems keeping teams everywhere, so it will take time to figure out who is assigned and who isn't. It could be a day or it could be weeks." Ed sighed.

"Fine. When they get here, they get here." Another stack of papers dropped onto the desk. "You kept your end, I'm keeping mine." Roy leafed through the stack. "That's everything I got off of him before I left." The sheets were dotted with alchemial arrays and hastily scribbled notes. Roy flipped through the pages, scanning each one before moving onto the next. Each page was scanned and put aside. Roy stopped at the last one.

"What's this?" The last page differed from each of the previous. Before the paper could be looked at more closely, it was snatched away.

"Sorry." Ed folded the last sheet up and slid it back into his coat. "That's one of mine." Roy stared at Ed for a long moment. The last sheet had too been dotted with arrays, but not like any array he had ever seen. The younger alchemist was up to something, but what Roy could not be sure. "That it?" Roy nodded.

"That's it. Nothing else we can do until I get your team out here." Ed nodded. A small silence loomed over the pair. Roy hesitated before speaking again. "How's your brother doing?" Ed sighed.

"He's holding up. It's going to be a long road until he's back to normal, but he'll get there." Trisha curled into her uncle's gentle embrace. "He has Winry and me for help. We'll make it through this." Roy nodded slightly.

"And her?" Ed smiled warmly at the dozing child.

"She's a little attached; I can't seem to shake her." Roy smiled slightly; it seemed out of character for the man to be so open, so warm to another person.

"She doesn't want to let her savior go." The two turned to look down the hall. Winry approached the two men slowly. "I was wondering where she wandered off to."

"Sorry," Ed replied sheepishly. "She wouldn't let me leave, so I brought her with me instead." Winry smiled gently.

"It's ok Ed. As long as she's with you instead of wandering around by herself, it's ok." There was a brief pause before the woman acknowledged the Fuhrer. "Fuhrer."

"Winry. How are you?"

"Better now that we have an alchemist stationed." Roy started to apologize, but she cut him off before he could carry on. "Don't worry about it. Just keep him here Roy, that's all I ask." He nodded curtly as a reply.

Winry turned back to Ed and took Trisha from his arms. "I'll leave you two be." She then carried the child back to her room without another word. The two men watched her disappear around the corner before acknowledging each other again.

"Ed, where have you been all this time? Everyone within reach has been looking for you and no one has seen hide nor hair of you for years. No traces, nothing. And then one day you just drop in out of nowhere. What happened?" Ed groaned softly; this explanation grew old quickly for there were no words that could even come close to explaining what had happened to him. Some days he didn't believe his own words.

"Somewhere you or anybody else would understand Roy; let's just leave it at that." Roy cast a long, curious gaze upon the other mna. Ed seemed altered, almost alien. Something caused a drastic shift in personality and he couldn't figure it out and he knew he couldn't keep Ed talking long enough to get to the root of the problem. "There anything else you need from me?" Roy shook his head. "Fine." Ed tosses him a half-assed salute. "Tell me when you have a team together." Roy nodded and without another word, Ed skirted back down the hall.

Just before he could disappear around the corner, Roy called out to him. "Fullmetal!" Ed stopped and turned back to the Fuhrer. "What are you going to do for research?" A grin spread across the petit man's face.

"Oh, I have something in mind."

* * *


End file.
